Articles - Jesus Christ

A part of the apologetic armory of the Christian faith is fulfilled prophecy. One of the common methods of historical apologetics "calls attention to fulfilled prophecy. For example . . . the probability that all the biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah would be fulfilled in a single person (Jesus) without supernatural design is infmitesimally small" (Beilby 311). While there are no prophecies in the Qur'an, in the Hindu Vedas, in the sayings of Buddha, Confucius, or in the Book of Mormon, it has been estimated that "30% of the Bible consists of [predictive] prophecy of one kind or another, making it unique in religious literature" (Blanchard 408). "There is nothing in the Qur'an [or any of the other above purported revelations], by way of types and shadows, that serves as evidence of its divine origin, whereas the Bible contains large sections of typology (even entire books - cf. The Epistle to the Hebrews) that prove its divine origin" (Pugh 7).

From April 1 to April 22, 1923, twenty-three sermons were delivered by the inimitable N.B. Hardeman at the famed Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry, in Tennessee's capital city of Nashville. The second of these sermons included an examination of the period between the Old and New Testaments in which Hardeman surveyed the reign of the infamous Herod the Great who occupied the throne when the angel of the Lord announced on that starlit night, that a Savior, Christ the Lord, has been born (Luke 2:8, 11).

Two thousand years ago, a baby, whose name was Jesus, was born in Bethlehem of Judea. The world has never been the same. Times change. Habits change. Nations forget their history. They never forget Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus really was born, lived, died, resurrected and ascended. These are historical facts. However, there is a sense in which we need to be careful as we speak of Jesus Christ as an "historical person." You see, the Person who was (is) Jesus, not only lived as an historical Person, but He has always existed.

Two thousand years ago a baby was born in Bethlehem of Judea. He was named Jesus. Since His birth, His name has filled twenty-one centuries of human history. E M. Blaiklock, who held the Chair of Classics at the University of Auckland and taught Latin, Greek, and Ancient History for more than four decades, wrote, “Times change. Habits change. Nations and men disastrously forget their history. They never forget Jesus of Nazareth” (8).

Wilbur M. Smith authored a classic study on the person and work of Jesus Christ titled, The Supernaturalness of Christ. In the Preface to the book, Smith says,
This volume is an attempt to set forth the basic facts involved in the birth, the Transfiguration, the miraculous acts, and the Resurrection, of Jesus Christ, that people may have an opportunity to individually come to definite conclusions as to whether Christ was or was not a truly supernatural person, the Son sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world. (xv-xvi)

Dear Joe:
I cannot tell you how shocked I was to learn about your terrible loss. In one breathtaking, heartbreaking instant he left us, without warning or farewell. In one mind numbing moment he vanished from our midst. In a trance, we lowered his beloved body. . . . In total wonderment, we heard friends and family discuss him in the past tense. In a haze of horror, our thoughts came to grips with our feelings: We will never see him again in this world, his smile will never cheer our spirits one last time, his tenderness will never again touch our souls. . . .